Page 22 - MAAN KI BAAT - ENGLISH

NDRF was raised on Jan 19, 2006 as a multi-
skilled and specialised disaster response force
under the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005
and mandated to respond to all natural and
man-made disasters in the country and even
outside. Presently, the Force has 16 Battalions.
Each battalion has 18 specialised Search and
Rescue teams which are self-contained and
have specialists such as engineers, technicians,
electricians, dog squads and medical/
paramedical personnel.
As per the SOP of NDRF issued by MHA, it can
be requisitioned for deployment by the Principal
Secretaries of the States dealing with DM, Relief
Commissioners of the States and DCs/DMs of
the districts. The authorities authorised to accept
the requisitions are MHA, DG NDRF and NDRF Unit
Commandants. Many a time, NDRF, on the basis
Piyush Anand, IPS of inputs from media channels, dispatches
teams to the incident site even before receipt
Director General, of a formal requisition. The aim is to expedite
National Disaster response action in keeping with the motto of
Response Force (NDRF)
the force “Saving Lives and Beyond… Always
& Everywhere.” No wonder, NDRF rescuers are
IN THE often referred to as “Angels in Orange.”
In order to ensure a timely response to
HOUR OF critical disaster situations during the golden
hour to save maximum lives, NDRF has adopted
the concept of Alert Teams on Wheels wherein,
CRISIS one team with rescuers and equipment loaded
in earmarked vehicles is ready to respond
Every Hand within 20 minutes of the receiving of information
regarding the occurrence of a disaster event.
Regular mobilisation drills are conducted at
Matters short notice to identify gaps on the ground and
take corrective action. NDRF has a permanent
presence at 69 locations across the country.
Recently disasters in the form of
cloudbursts, floods, flash floods and landslides
have struck Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Telangana and
some parts of North-East India, causing
large-scale devastation and a significant
loss of human and animal lives. The timely
mobilisation of manpower and resources in
such situations is a critical aspect of response.
In order to respond to both known and unknown

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